Chapter 23: The Business World Where the Weak are Prey to the Strong!

The next day, ten o'clock in the morning.

Tang Ye and Gu Wenqin arrived at Jinte Clothing Trading Co., Ltd. on time.

Inside the office, on a brown leather sofa, General Manager Zheng Yaodong was chatting with Xu Jie.

Xu Jie was smoking, and through the smoke, he pointed his chin at the two of them...

Gu Wenqin and Tang Ye exchanged a glance, both realizing that with this petty person causing trouble, it would be difficult to achieve their expectations for today's visit.

Gu Wenqin had applied her makeup very carefully, making her features more defined, and she had changed into a purple long dress; her entire silhouette was smooth and graceful, making it hard for people to look away.

Thinking of the scene he had seen in the office, Xu Jie felt both angry and heartbroken.

Sure enough, a woman nourished by love is like spring mountains after a fine rain, appearing reborn from head to toe.

Although she did not get along with Xu Jie, she had to endure it in the current situation; Gu Wenqin bowed to Zheng Yaodong with a gentle smile on her face, "General Manager Zheng, you have guests here. Why don't we wait until you finish your chat before we come in?"

Zheng Yaodong waved his hand and smiled faintly, "You and Factory Director Xu are not strangers. If you have something to say, just sit down and chat together! Oh, and who is this beside you?"

Gu Wenqin hurriedly introduced, "This is our new Deputy Town Mayor of Pinghu Town, Tang Ye."

Tang Ye took the initiative to reach out his hand, "I am Tang Ye, in charge of the economic work for Pinghu Town!"

Zheng Yaodong had dealt with many officials in the past; to him, a Deputy Town Mayor did not amount to much.

He tried his best to appear enthusiastic and shook hands with Tang Ye, "I have long heard of your name; it is an honor to meet you."

After the two sat down, Zheng Yaodong went through the motions of social etiquette and took out a cigarette to offer to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye did not light the cigarette, placing it on the table instead, and glanced at Gu Wenqin, "Boss Zheng, I came here to visit with General Manager Gu because Qinge Clothing Factory is attempting a transformation, and we would like to discuss a partnership with you."

Gu Wenqin took a proposal document out of her bag and placed it by Zheng Yaodong's hand.

Zheng Yaodong leaned back, not even looking at the proposal, and said regretfully, "Qinge's sales at our company have been on a downward trend for the past few years. I only stocked your goods because of my relationship with your father back then. The favor that needed to be repaid has already been repaid. To be honest, after doing this for so many years, suddenly transforming carries too much risk!"

Xu Jie mocked them with a sarcastic tone, "Qinge's sales volume last year didn't even reach one-fifth of ours. Boss Zheng, why not give all her channels to me? I can offer two percentage points of profit to subsidize you."

Seeing an opportunity, Zheng Yaodong changed the subject, "General Manager Xu, I am optimistic about our upcoming cooperation! You must not go back on what you just said."

Xu Jie shook his head smugly, "Whoever goes back on their word will get hit by a car when they walk out the door."

Zheng Yaodong pushed the proposal back to Gu Wenqin, his tone becoming cold, "I won't look at the proposal. As for the cooperation with your factory, it will not be renewed after it expires. We will give all the counter space we provided you in several shopping malls to Boman for stocking. Consider today an advance notice."

A look of wild joy appeared in Xu Jie's eyes; looking at Gu Wenqin's beautiful and moving face, his heart suddenly softened, "Wenqin, it's still the same thing—as long as you nod, I will give you a way out. Besides being a decoration, what can this guy help you with?"

Gu Wenqin felt insulted and immediately stood up, her pretty face full of anger, "If someone else asked me this, I might hesitate, but even if you asked me a thousand times or a hundred times, my answer would be the same. Impossible!"

Gu Wenqin's answer was somewhat cutting to the heart.

Xu Jie could no longer hold back, pointing at Gu Wenqin and Tang Ye and cursing, "I know you two are hooking up, you pair of adulterers. I'll put it out there: as long as I, Xu Jie, am here, Qinge will absolutely not sell a single item."

Seeing Xu Jie cursing at him, Tang Ye took a large step forward and grabbed Xu Jie by the collar, "Keep your mouth clean."

Zheng Yaodong was stunned, not expecting Tang Ye to have such a fiery temper.

Xu Jie was choked until he couldn't breathe, "Let go of me. You are a dignified government official; don't you care about your image?"

Zheng Yaodong hurried over to mediate, "Don't mess around, or I'm calling the police!"

Seeing Xu Jie's cowering appearance, Tang Ye only felt that hitting him would dirty his own hands.

He sneered and gave a forceful push.

Xu Jie was shoved directly onto the sofa.

"Since Boss Zheng has no interest in cooperating, then we shall take our leave!"

Tang Ye's cold gaze swept over Zheng Yaodong.

Having spent so many years in the business world and become a wily old fox, Zheng Yaodong felt his hair stand on end from being looked at!

Could it be that he had bet on the wrong chip?

Immediately, he told himself to stay calm.

His decision was very rational!

In terms of scale, background, and market, Boman was far superior to Qinge.

After Tang Ye and Gu Wenqin left.

Xu Jie loosened his collar and said to Zheng Yaodong with a smile, "Uncle Dong, thank you. You saw it too—Gu Wenqin relies on having a backer and doesn't put me in her eyes at all."

Zheng Yaodong thought to himself, a mere Deputy Town Mayor, what kind of backer is that?

He patted Xu Jie on the shoulder, a look of disdain appearing at the corner of his mouth, "Old Gu's character is fine, but it's a pity he had a daughter. Women in business are ultimately at a disadvantage. If you don't want to pay a little flesh, how can you expect to get benefits? The business world is a place where the weak are prey to the strong."

Leaving Jinte Clothing Trading Co.

Gu Wenqin suddenly squatted down by the side of the road, hugging her knees in low spirits and burying her head in them.

Tang Ye did not speak, quietly waiting for Gu Wenqin to process her emotions.

Life is just like this; not everything can go smoothly.

But when encountering difficulties, one must face them head-on; adversity quotient is very important for success.

Gu Wenqin slowly raised her head, tears in the corners of her eyes, "I didn't expect Zheng Yaodong to turn his back on us. The only reason he was able to grow his business so big and strong back then was because my dad was willing to advance funds and stock his goods. What do we do now? We bought so many materials; it won't work if there's no market for them!"

"There will be a way when the car reaches the mountain. Let's go stroll through the shopping mall ahead and grab something to eat while we're at it. You've been busy all morning and didn't even eat breakfast; you must be starving! My treat!" Tang Ye looked toward the shopping mall not far away.

She took a deep breath, trying hard to adjust her emotions, "Alright, I want to eat pickled fish."

Tang Ye breathed a sigh of relief; Gu Wenqin was indeed not so easily defeated, like a reed—seemingly fragile, yet as tough as silk.

Arriving at the entrance of Times Square, they were just about to take the right-hand passage to enter the food court on the basement level.

A noisy sound came from not far away, and they saw a group of security guards pushing a young man.

The young man kept backing away.

A woman was pointing at the young man's nose and cursing.

"He's a pervert, a filthy pervert, taking pictures of girls' panties everywhere! Everyone, come and watch."

The foot traffic was heavy, and upon hearing that there was a pervert taking secret photos of panties, people who loved to watch the excitement and weren't afraid of trouble instantly gathered into a crowd.

"Don't let him slip away!"

The young man was sweating profusely from anxiety, "I'm not a pervert, I just took photos of a few dresses in the shop, don't make false accusations."

"Then do you dare to bring the camera over and let everyone check it?" the woman said with her hands on her hips, huffing with anger.

"Why should I..." the young man said displeased.

"He's feeling guilty, let's beat up the pervert together!"

The young man backed away, unable to see where he was stepping, tripped over a stone, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.

A normal person would instinctively cover their head, but he held onto the camera for dear life.

In the chaos, someone raised their foot, preparing to land a blow on his head.

"Stop, everyone stop."

Suddenly, a loud shout came.

Tang Ye parted the crowd and stood in front of the young man. Someone wanted to step forward, but was forced back by Tang Ye's gaze.

"Before the matter is clear, don't go around hitting people. If you hit the wrong person or injure someone, none of you will be able to escape; just wait to be detained."

The young man raised his head and saw the man standing in front of him clearly; he widened his eyes and asked in disbelief, "You, you are Tang Ye?"

"What a coincidence, Lin Ziyang!"

Only after walking closer did Tang Ye confirm that it was actually an acquaintance.